Wall Street ends quiet session slightly lower

Major equity indexes remained confined in tight ranges on Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday in the U.S. but closed the day little lower as investors turn their attention to quarterly earnings results.

Led by gains in Microsoft and Nvidia, the S&P information technology index (SPLRCT) refreshed its record high and closed the day 0.2% higher. On the other hand,  S&P healthcare index (SPXHC) dropped sharply after Medtronic, a medical device maker, announced that its quarterly profits would be impacted negatively by Hurricane Maria, which damaged the company's operations in Puerto Rico.

"This is a nervous, unpopular bull market. If a company just meets earnings or - God forbid - misses earnings, the market is going to crush that particular stock," Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told Reuters.

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup will be the first in line to report their third-quarter earnings on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 12.6 points, or 0.06%, to 22,761.07, the S&P 500 fell 4.6 points, or 0.18%, to 2,544.73 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 10.45 points, or 0.16%, to 6,579.73, according to the latest Reuters data.

DJI technical outlook

Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet, writes, "technical readings in the daily chart still favor additional gains ahead, as indicators picked up within overbought readings, whilst the price remains far above all of its moving averages. In the short term, however, the index is barely holding above its 20 SMA, meeting buying interest around it, the immediate support at 22,735, while the Momentum indicator retains its downward strength, heading south around its mid-line, as the RSI consolidates around 68, all of which favors a downward extension for this Tuesday, on a break below the mentioned support."

According to the analyst, supports could be seen at 22,743, 22,695 and 22,651 while resistances align at 22,790, 22,850 and 22,900.

Headlines from the NA session

• EUR/USD edges higher to mid-17s on ECB's Lautenschlaeger's remarks
• Yen subdued in absence of US treasury market - BBH
• ECB's Lautenschlaeger: Low interest rates are justified; have side effects
• British PM May: Don't want to accept existing economic model with EU post-Brexit
• Week ahead - Rabobank
• US Dollar parked around 93.60